Professor appointed to the University of Ryukyus' Management Council

UH Mānoa's Center for Japanese Studies’ Director, Dr. Robert N. Huey, has been appointed a member of the University of Ryukyus’ Management Council, the Japanese equivalent to the UH Board of Regents. The other members of the Management Council consist of the University of the Ryukyus President, five Vice Presidents, and prominent members of the community such as Vice Governor of Okinawa, President of the Okinawa Times Newspaper, and Director of the University of the Ryukyus Foundation. The Management Council has the power to decide the direction of the University. This appointment is not usually bestowed upon a non-Japanese, thus it should be recognized as a significant step for the leading university in Okinawa.

At a special ceremony, a representative from the University of the Ryukyus will present the official letter of appointment to Dr. Huey on Friday, November 6, 2009 at 10 a.m. in Moore Hall 319 on the UH Mānoa campus.

Dr. Huey started teaching at UH Mānoa in 1985, and has served as the Center for Japanese Studies’ Director for the last seven years.

UH Manoa and the University of the Ryukyus have a long standing relationship based on scholars and students studying at each other universities; and, UH Manoa recently established in 2008 the first and only Center for Okinawan Studies in the United States. A world- class library collection on Okinawa (Sakamaki/Hawley Collection, housed at UH Mānoa's Hamilton Library), faculty and student interest in Okinawa, and a vibrant Okinawan-American community in Hawai‘i come together to provide especially fertile grounds for the study of Okinawa and for joint projects with the University of the Ryukyus.